Garage door



F. J. M CABE Sept. .8, 1970 GARAGE DOOR 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 18, 1968 INVENTOR. FRANCIS JOSEPH MC CABE ATTORNEY.

F. J. M CABE 3,527,282

GARAGE DOOR 5 Sheets-Sheet Sept. 8, 1970 Filed Oct. 18, 1968 INVENTOR. FRANCIS JOSEPH MC CABE arf/ ATTORNEY.

If?! Ill/f 1 w; l i La Sept. 8, 1970 F. J. MOCABE 3,527,232

GARAGE DOOR Filed Oct. 18, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet :5

Fig. 5 Fig. 7

INVENTOR.

FRANCIS JOSEPH MC CABE ATTORNEY.

United States Patent Oflice 3,527,282 Patented Sept. 8, 1970 3,527,282 GARAGE DOOR Francis J. McCabe, Penns Park, Pa. (Regency Woods H16, Doylestown, Pa. 18901) Filed Oct. 18, 1968, Ser. No. 768,720 Int. Cl. E06b 3/48; Ed /26 US. Cl. 160-207 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A door unit comprises a frame having channeled side members and a plurality of horizontally disposed slats. Alternate slats are Z-shaped in crosssection and are pivotally mounted at each end in means which are slideably disposed in the channeled side members. The remaining slats are connected to the edges of the Z-shaped slats.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to garage doors, and more particularly, to folding garage doors which can be manually operated to fold vertically upwardly.

In the prior art garage doors which included horizontally disposed sections hinged along their horizontal edges and pivotally mounted at their ends required extensive tracks which dog-legged overhead back into the garage to accommodate the fully extended door after it was raised. These doors required large springs or other mechanical or electromechanical devices to aid in raising them.

I have discovered, and disclose in the application, a new and novel door which does not require an overhead track system and which is manually operable with much greater ease than has heretofore been known.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a frame having channeled side members, a plurality of horizontally extending slats, alternate slats being Z-shaped in section and the remaining slats being preferably substantially fiat in section, said slats being connected to one another along their horizontally extending edges by integral hinge connections, and separate means slideably mounted in said channels and pivotally connected to the ends of the webs of each Z-shaped slat.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention the substantially fiat slats are approximately one-fifth the height of. the Z-shaped slats and include separate hinge portions at either horizontal edge separated by a body or web portion extending therebetween to separate the hinge elements from one another. The hinge portions cooperate with the hinge portions of the Z-shaped members to form separate floating pivot points and prevent binding. Each complete hinge is preferably a shifting moment type hinge. The resulting structure provides varying force distribution whereby the slats undergo sequential non-uni form motion upon application of vertical force to open the door.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an effective garage door requiring no overhead auxiliary frame structure.

It is a further object to provide a garage door which is lightweight and manually operable, as well as durable and effective.

These and other objects of my invention will become apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a door and frame unit in accordance with the preferred embodiment of my invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section through an upper portion of the door taken as indicated by the lines and arrows 2-2 in FIG. 1 and also showing a portion of the frame;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section through a lower portion of the door taken as indicated by the lines and arrows 3--3 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal section taken as indicated by the lines and arrows 4-4 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a section similar to FIG. 2 showing the door in an alternate position;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of that portion of the door which joins it to the side frame as designated by the numeral and arrow 6 in FIGS. 2 and 5; and

FIG. 7 is a modified form of the slat element designated 7 in FIG. 5.

Referring to the figures, the door unit designated generally 10, FIG. 1 comprises a frame and a door. The frame consists of channel members 11 and 12 which are substantially U-shaped in cross-section as shown in FIG. 4. The channel members are preferably made of one-eighth thick aluminum and are fixed at their base or web portion by any suitable means (not shown) to the frame of the structure forming the doorway (as indicated by the dash lines FIGS. 1 and 4).

The door consists of a plurality of slats, joined along their horizontally extending edges to one another. Alternate slats are Z-shaped in cross-section as illustrated by slat 13, FIG. 3. The preferred slat is approximately 8 inches high and one inch wide at the web 14, FIG. 3 and is made of one-sixteenth inch thick aluminum sheet. The horizontally extending terminal edges of each Z- shaped member are hook-shaped in section as at 15 and 16, FIG. 3. The hook-shape follows a non-uniform curve composed of a number of circular arcs formed from decreasing radii as the arc progresses toward the free end of the hook. Similar type hook-shapes have been disclosed in the prior art, as for example in US. Pat. 1,939,728 granted to H. L. Spaunburg in 1933 for a Hinge. As this patent illustrates, it is difficult to describe with precision the curve followed by this type of hook member. However, it is known in the art to construct mating hinge members which rotate on moving pivot points, so that the surfaces of the members shift with respect to one an other while they are being articulated. See for example US. Pats. 2,804,641 and 2,699,827.

The mating hinge member in the present invention provides just such a shifting hinge joint. It is formed in the horizontally extending terminal edges of the flat slats such as that shown at 26, in FIG. 3. It too consists of a hook-shaped thin aluminum section which follows varying curves of a somewhat expanded scale than those of the hook previously described. This allows the hook-shaped portion of the Z-shaped slat to shift as well as rotate or pivot as it is articulated with respect to the flat slat.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 the flat slat is approximately one-sixth the height of the Z-shaped slat. It will be understood that this proportion may be varied within the scoupe and spirit of this invention. However, it is most preferably one-fourth to one-eighth the height of the Z-shaped slat. It will be noted from the figures that the flat slat includes a web portion 21 having a transversely extending section 22 which effectively separates the terminal edges of the Z-shaped slats connected to the fiat slat, so that these edges are not in edge to edge relationship, but rather are disposed remotely from one another in said flat slat. The section 22 is minimal in thickness as shown; however, it will be understood that it can vary to approximately one inch as shown in FIG. 7 at 222. The effect of this separation of hinged portions will be described more fully hereinafter.

Referring now to FIGS. 2, 4, 5 and 6 I shall now describe the portion of the apparatus which pivotally guides the door in the side channels during opening and closing of the door. Disposed within each of the side channels in sliding engagement therewith are bearing members such as 30 and 31, FIG. 4. Each Z-shaped slat has such a bearing member mounted to the web portion thereof at each end as shown more clearly in FIG. 6. Bearing member 33 comprises an elongated T-shaped member having a longitudinal clearance hole 34 therethrough, and is preferably made of nylon or other similar tough plasticlike hearing material. The bearing member fits in the channel member so that the projecting edges 35 bear against the U-shaped channel member while the inner end of the bearing member clears the bottom of the channel. The extended width and height of the bearing number shown, being on the order of one inch in each direction, provide a large bearing surface for smooth operation.

Engaging the head of the bearing member is a bearing protector 40 comprising a flat body having flanges projecting therefrom. The bearing protector is preferably made of one-sixteenth inch aluminum and has a clearance hole 41 passing therethrough. The flanges 42 and 43 extend outwardly from the body of the protector to embrace the edges 35 of the head of the bearing member in a snug fit. Note that the flanges do not extend the full height of the protector body, but rather, terminate at about three-quarters of the height. This termination occurs a diagonally opposed corners as shown in FIG. 6 and the body is inset the width of the flange for the remainder of the height of the body. The function of this protector can be better understood with reference to the representative portion 50 of the Z-shaped slat.

The slat includes vertically extending wall portions 51 and 52 which are offset from one another by web portion 53. The web portion 53 terminates about one inch short of the full width of the slat. This allows the slat to embrace the channel member as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. The wall portions 51 and 52 are relieved as at 57 and 58 respectively to accommodate the flanges 42 and 43 of the bearing protector. Disposed about the web portion 53 in engagement therewith is rod 54 which can be suitably attached thereto by rivets 55. Rod 54 is designed to pass through clearance hole 41 and rest in sliding engagement in the hole 34.

With the parts assembled the protector 40 rests against the edge of the web 53. As the slats are pivoted from the position shown in FIG. 2 to the position shown in FIG. 5. The bearing 33 slides upwardly in the channel and carries with it the bearing protector 40. The relieved portions 57 and 58 can clear the protector 40 as they pivot by virtue of the fact that the flanges 42 and 43 do not extend the full height of the protector 40 as previously described. However, when the slat reaches the fully closed position the edges 59 and 60 of the wall portions 51 and 52 respectively engage the flanges 42 and 43 respectively of the protector 40 and thereby prevent damage to the bearing member 33.

The door is conveniently provided with a handle 70 for raising it which is most preferably attached to one of the lowest flat slats as shown in FIG. 1 for raising it. Alternatively a handle and lock mechanism can be provided as shown in FIG. 7 wherein the handle 72 actuates the lock bars 74 which are conveniently disposed in sliding engagement within the hollow portion 300 of the body of the slat or may be aflixed to the inner side thereof as desired. The handle and lock bars are conventional per se.

In order to raise the door one need merely grip the door and pull upwardly. The effect of the hinge means previously described is to cause only those slats in close proximity to the handle to begin to fold to any appreciable extent. Thus the force necessary to close the door is greatly reduced. As one continues to raise the handle the slats are folded upon one another in a non-uniform fashion. That is, some are folded to a greater extent than others during closing. Of course, once the top slat 80, FIG. 5 has been raised to its uppermost position, all of the remaining slats 'would be substantially in the fully closed position shown. To reiterate, the advantage of the arrangement of parts described herein is that it is only necessary to exert enough force to fold a few slats at a time, rather than the entire door.

, What is claimed is:

1. A (1001 L1I1lt comprising:

(a) a frame having channeled side members;

(b) a plurality of horizontally extending slats, some of said slats being Z-shaped in section and others constituting hinge means;

(c) said hinge means and said Z-shaped slats being interconnected by hinge elements along their ho-rizontally extending edges for providing floating pivoted articulation;

(d) said slats constituting said hinge means having a web portion extending between and separating said hinge elements; and

(e) bearings slidably mounted in said channels and pivotally connected to the ends of the webs of each Z-shaped slat.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein alternate slats are Z-shaped in section.

3. The invention of claim 1 wherein said Web portion includes a transversely extending portion.

4. The invention of claim 3 wherein said transversely extending portion is hollow, and lock bars are disposed in said hollow in sliding engagement therewith and a handle is mounted on said slat to extend into said hollow and engage said lock bars.

5. The invention of claim 1 wherein bearing protector n lleans engage said bearings to protect them from said s ats.

6. The invention of claim 1 wherein each of said bearings is an elongated T-shaped member having a longitudinal hole therein and said pivotal connection comprises a rod extending from said slat into the hole in said bearing member.

7. The invention of claim 6 wherein a bearing protector embraces the head of said T-shaped bearing.

8. The invention of claim 5 wherein said bearings extend from said channel members and said Z-shaped slats embrace said channel members at the ends thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,667,218 1/1954 Collins 206 X 2,680,481 6/1954 McCarthy 160-206 3,287,759 11/1966 FOltZ 160--199 X 2,860,701 11/1958 WOOd et a1. 160-199 3,346,910 10/1967 Dickinson et a1. 16163 1,824,451 9/1931 SOSS 16178 X 1,963,273 6/1934 Kellogg 16-178 X 3,205,935 9/1965 Cayton 160-199 X 3,401,734 9/1968 McCabe 160207 DENNIS L TAYLOR, Primary Examiner 11.8. C1. X.R. 

